Niagara Falls

There are 2 sides of the Niagara Falls. The American side and the Canadian side. The Falls is at the situated at the American Side. Before our trip, we read about going to the Canadian side as it overlooks the Falls and where most activities are. But since we travel so far to the Falls, we wanted to the best of both worlds. And we were lucky that we managed to do it! 

We took a domestic flight from NYC to Buffalo, pick up the car and drove to Niagara Falls. Before we cross the bridge to get to the Canada side, we stopped by the US side of the falls. There's a tower where visitors can have an elevated view of the falls. 

The Maid of the Mist boat tour, located at the American side is not to be missed. While there were reports that the queue may go up more than an hour, we went on a weekday, and it was a breeze getting on the boat tour. 

Do prepared to get wet as the water pressure is very strong. We were all issued with rain poncho. At some point of time, we have to keep our cameras as we were literally getting drenched!   

The below photo shows how near, one can get to the Falls onboard Maid of the Mist. 

Rainbows are common sightings at Niagara Falls. We spotted it everyday, in the late afternoon when I was in Niagara Falls. We were very fortunate that we managed to see this beautiful sighting while on Maid of the Mist on the first day in Niagara Falls, and one can imagine how excited we were!

The bustling Niagara town is located in the Canadian side. We crossed over to Canada side without any difficulty via the Rainbow bridge. Again, while there are reports on the jam, it took us just a couple of minutes to clear the customs. In fact, it was much easier to cross this customs, then the Tuas Checkpoint! However, do plan earlier during the peak season. 

We checked into our hotel, Sheraton on the Falls for 3 nights. It cost us almost a bomb to pay for a room with the Falls view, but we were totally satisfied with our decision. Looking at the location, this is one of the few hotels that offer the closest view of the Falls. 

This is the view overlooking from our room.We could have gotten a better and newer hotel for the price we paid, but the view makes up for it. 

At night, the waterfalls are illuminated. During one of the nights, that was fireworks. While visitors squeeze and queue early at the waterfront areas, and enjoy the views at the comfort of our window. Fireworks display happens at 10pm on Friday and Sunday during the summer periods. It is best to check the website for the schedule and plan a trip around those days. A pity that our cameras weren't able to capture the display.

The next day, we went on the Hornblower Cruise. It was similar to the Maid of the Mist, but since we enjoy it so much, we decide to go on a second ride, which is on the Canadian side.

After that, we also went to the "Journey Behind the Falls". This is one of the must visit journey as we were whisked into the tunnels leading to the Falls. At the end of that journey, we came to the point closes to the Horseshoe Falls.

We were astounded by the sound of the strong water pressures, and how near to the falls we could get. A sure experience! From there, we also manage to take the most complete rainbow photo.

I would recommend at least a 2-night stay at Niagara Falls at the Canadian side of the falls. This way, you have a full day to explore Niagara Falls.

There are also surrounding places to visit at the Niagara on the Lake areas and evening activities surrounding the Falls area. We stayed 3 nights, hence we have time to drive to the Lake area. Will share more on the next post. 

"Must Eat" in New York City, NYC

For most Singaporeans, travelling overseas also means finding having an opportunity to search for good food. This is no less for us even in a foreign land thousands of miles away.  

1. Smorgasburg 

This Brooklyn Flea market happens every weekend during the Summer season (April - November) and is the best food market happening in NYC.

On Saturday, it will be at Williamsburg. On Sundays, it will be located at Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Some of the food stalls have long queue. As tourists, we didn't want to miss out any good food. Hence, we queue for the pork burger that has the longest queue and our choice was proven right. It is truly yummy! 

Smorgasburg Flea Market
Saturdays: Williamsburg - East River State Park (90 Kent Ave at N. 7 St.)
Sundays: Brooklyn Bridge Park - Pier 5, 304 Furman Street
11am - 6pm
Rain or Shine Event


2. Chelsea Market

One of the "Must Go" place. It is very crowded on weekends, so try to go on a weekday if possible.

There are many different stalls and outlets, but here is our favourite.

a) Lobster Place

We went back Chelsea Market, mainly because of Lobster Place. Over here, you can order freshly steamed lobster. The price varies according to the size of the lobster. 

The lobster roll is just as delicious. 

Mon-Fri: 9:30am-9pm
Sat: 9:30am-9pm
Sun: 10am-8pm

b) Los Tacos

It was an unassuming place and we wouldn't have tried it if not for the constant crowd. We tried only one initially, and couldn't resist getting the 2nd and 3rd one. There's beef, pork and chicken to choose from.  

Be quick to make your choices as the staff do not have much patience. There's no seats, basically just bar counters for you to grab a bite. 

I must say, this is by far, the best tacos I've ever tasted. Definitely a "MUST TRY"!

Chelsea Market
75 9th Avenue (Between 15th and 16 Streets),
New York, NY 10011
Mon-Sat: 7am - 9pm
Sun: 8am-8pm


3. Ellen's Stardust Diner

There are plenty of diners in NYC, but this is probably the only one that has waitresses and servers singing and dancing.  

While the food is just passable, the entertainment from the dancing and singing score high points. We were told that some of them used to sing at the broadway. I wonder what they are doing here if that's true. One of the criteria to work there must be to be able to sing and dance. All the waiters and waitresses takes turn in performing for the guests. 

Don't forget to tip the performers. Nothing is for free. 

Ellen's Stardust Diner

1650 Broadway (51st Street)

New York, NY 10019 

Sun-Thur 7am-12am

Fri-Sat: 7am-1am 

4. Shake Shack

This legendary burger did no further elaboration. One has not been to NYC if he has not eaten Shake Shack burger.

While I am not a burger person, but I must say that the Shrooms burger is really juicy and yummy.

The shack stack burger is the best but it's just a tard too big for me.

There seems to be a constant queue for Shake Shack burger. The staff would keep kids entertained as they queue. We ate twice and realised that different outlets do differ in taste. The one at Grand Terminal seems to have the burgers over-cooked. 

5. The Halal Guys

There are a lot of food trucks in NYC. But this particular one has probably the longest queue line. We chance upon it while doing the open-top bus tour.

The queue was pretty long, it takes us about 20 minutes during the dinner time.

According to them, there are copycats and this one below claims to be the authentic one.They are also located at different locations during different time of the day. So, do check out the right locations as below.

While I won't say that this is a"must eat", but it is definitely worth the try if you are around the vicinity. 

6. Katz' Delicatessen

Talk about Pastrami sandwich and none beats Katz Deli. The layers of pastrami is fresh and juicy. 

We took the train just to search for this pastrami sandwich. While it is worth the journey, the location is in a venue that I won't recommend to go in the evening or night.  

Katz' Delicatessen
205 East Houston Street (corner of Ludlow St) New York City, 10002

Operating Hours

Mon - Wed: 8:00am - 10:45 pm
Thur: 8:00am-2:45am

Fri: 8:00am - Open all night

Sat: Open all day
Sun: Open until 10:45pm

7. Magnolia Bakery

This fame Magnolia Bakery is where the Sex in the City is filmed and popular for the cupcakes and  banana pudding. 

As sweet as the cupcakes, the shop is sweetly decorated in pastal colours. Even without tasting the cakes, you can feel how "sweet" the desserts are. 

While there was no queue when we were there, business has been brisk and there is a constant flow of customers, mostly females. 

Magnolia Bakery

Rockefeller Center
1240 Avenue of the Americas at 49th Street
New York, NY
Store Hours: M-Th: 7am-10pm
F: 7am-12am / Sat: 8am-12am / Sun: 8am-10pm

"Must Visit" in New York City, NYC - Part 2

There's so much things in NYC. Part 2 continues the journey in NYC with a list of places not to be missed out as well. 

1. 9/11 Memorial

Yes, this is Ground Zero - the location of the 9/11 terrorist attack. While plans to restore were announced 2 years after the attacks, the memorial only open doors to visitors in 2011, 10 years after the attack. The venue is now heavily guarded with NYPD. Couldn't find a place a safe than this in NYC!

The names of every person who died in the terrorist attacks were inscribed in bronze around the twin memorial pools. 

The queue into the museum was very long and require an admission ticket. There were also specific timings to adhere to. Hence, we skip that and just toured around the memorial pools. We realised the need to plan the tour to the museum in advance. If you are planning to visit the memorial museum, do check out the tickets reservation on the website early.


2. Chinatown

The streets of Chinatown is anything but boring. NYC Chinatown has one of the largest Chinese community outside Asia. I almost forgot that I'm in NYC while exploring the streets.

Take a leisure walk along the colourful Mott Street, Broome Street. We walk into these groceries shop and was amazed at the wide variety of food sold. Fruits, seafood, vegetables, cooked food such as roast pork, roast duck are all available at very reasonable price.

No wonder people say that you get good deals at Chinatown. You can get a generous packed of roast meat lunch for US$5. This is probably cheaper than your McDonalds meal.

Adjacent to this is Little Italy, which one can find lots of nice Italian restaurants. Lively area to venture in the evening. 

3. World's Largest Macy's 

What's visiting NYC without shopping? A visit to the World's Largest legendary Macy's is a must!

Just opposite Macy's is the Victoria's Secret flagship store. Just a block away, we venture into the K-Town, which is lined with rows of Korean restaurants.

Well, but of course, the place not to be missed for shopping is Woodbury Common Premium Outlets. The shopping was so overwhelming good that I forgot to take any photos of the outlet shopping! It is probably the biggest outlet in USA. We couldn't finish shopping in one day, and went back on a second trip, barely struggling to cover most of the outlets.

It takes slightly more than 1 hour to reach Woodbury Outlet. Gray Line and Short Line Coach runs daily return transfers from Port Authority Bus Terminal to Woodbury. We pre-purchase the tickets in advance to avoid the long queue in the morning. Check out Grayline website for more information.

Happy Shopping!

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"Must Visit" in New York City, NYC - Part 1